From Dec. 29, 1993: K-State rips Wyoming, 52-17

K-State junior running back J.J. Smith set a Copper Bowl record by gaining 133 yards on 20 carries. He also set the tone early by gaining 90 yards on nine carries in the first quarter and became the first player in K-State history to score a TD in a bowl game with a 2-yard run.

TUCSON, Ariz. — This was one for the books — the history book, the record book and the scrapbook.

Kansas State won the first bowl game in school history on Wednesday night, routing Wyoming 52-17 in the Copper Bowl, and the Wildcats did it with all the style and verve anybody could want.

This, folks, was no fluke. The Cats simply lined up and kicked the WAC tri-champions all over the field. It was complete and utter domination.

“I can’t even begin to explain how good this feels,” said senior safety Kitt Rawlings. “After four years of working so hard and being able to progress to this point, it’s an incredible feeling.”

K-State finished with 502 yards total offense, 275 passing and 227 rushing. The Cats limited Wyoming to 302 yards total offense and just 36 on the ground.

It’s worth noting, too, that one of the Cowboys’ touchdowns was a gift after they blocked a Chad Romano punt and recovered at the KSU 14.

“Nothing surprises me, but I can’t tell you we thought we would win like we did,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said. “It was an extremely important win. It allows these players, especially the seniors, to do something that has never been done in the history of college football.”

The highlights of this historic evening looked like this:

■ K-State finished 9-2-1. The Wildcats haven’t won that many games in 83 years since the 1910 team went 10-1.

■ The 52 points represented their highest point total since they also scored 52 against New Mexico State in 1990. The last time they scored more was the famous 59-21 rout of Oklahoma in 1969. It also was a Copper Bowl record, breaking the mark of 31 set by Washington State last year.

■ Senior Andre Coleman closed his career in brilliant fashion. For all intents and purposes, he broke Wyoming’s spirit by returning a punt 68 yards for a touchdown to give K-State a 24-10 lead with 1:07 left in the first half.

“That was super big,” Synder said. “It established momentum, opened the ballgame up and gave us some breathing room. It made sure we didn’t go into the locker room frightened.”

Coleman then put the game away on the second play from scrimmage in the second half when he caught a pass form Chad May at the Wyoming 45 and raced into the end zone to complete a 61-yard scoring play.

Coleman finished with eight catches for 144 yards, 73 yards in punt returns and 59 yards in kickoff returns. He was named offensive player of the game by ESPN.

“Andre’s a very competent young man,” Snyder said. “He likes to get the football, and when he does he can do something with it. He wasn’t a surprise because he’s done those things so many times. He can do it so many ways.”

■ Junior running back J.J. Smith set a Copper Bowl record by gaining 133 yards on 20 carries. He also set the tone early by gaining 90 yards on nine carries in the first quarter and became the first player in K-State history to score a TD in a bowl game with a 2-yard run.

The team’s 227 yards rushing were a season high and broke the Copper Bowl record of 179 set last year by Utah.

“You do whatever the defense allows you to do,” Snyder said of the Wildcats’ suddenly resurgent running game. “If J.J. doesn’t get those big plays early, then maybe we’re throwing the ball all night. But we were running the ball well, so we stuck with it.”

■ Junior quarterback May still had a big passing game, completing 19 of 28 throws for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown and two-point conversion.

■ Senior cornerback Kenny McEntyre, often the forgotten man in a secondary that includes Jaime Mendez and Thomas Randolph, was the defensive player of the game. He intercepted a pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown and contributed 11 tackles.

Give a hand to the entire defense, in fact, which shut down a Wyoming team that averaged 30.9 points points per game in the regular season.

All-American wide receiver Ryan Yarborough did catch eight passes, but the Wildcats limited him to just 72 receiving yards, about half his season’s average. Yarborough did get loose once, scoring an apparent 52-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but it was nullified by a penalty on the Cowboys.

Any way you look at it, it was a lovely night to wear purple.

“Everybody was talking about a 100-point game, and we held up our end of it,” said K-State offensive tackle Jim Hmielewski. “But the difference is that our defense played great.

“It’s really rewarding to know we put a whole game together. Our offense scored, our defense scored and our kicking game scored. That makes for a great game.”